


Insomnia

by I May Age Regress (shnuffeluv)



Series: Gibbs' Family [20]
Category: NCIS
Genre: Age Play, Age Regression/De-Aging, Ficlet, Gen, Headaches & Migraines, Insomnia, Medicine, Minor Violence, Nice!, Non-Sexual Age Play, Short One Shot, We've reached installment number 30!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-08
Updated: 2017-02-08
Packaged: 2018-09-22 19:52:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,033
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9623000
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shnuffeluv/pseuds/I%20May%20Age%20Regress
Summary: Kate is having a hard time sleeping.





	

**Author's Note:**

> This is just a quick one tonight, 'cause I've been busy, but wanted to get something out. It's my birthday today, and I'm really pumped! I got a _50 pack_ of markers to have fun with! It's gonna be so much fun to use them!

Kate hated days like today. It was cold, it was wet, and DiNozzo was being...well, DiNozzo.

"I'm telling you, Kate, six foot, drop dead gorgeous. Redhead, too. Feisty. Couldn't ask for a better woman to be my date."

Kate rolled her eyes. "Whatever, Tony."

DiNozzo grinned. "What, you've never been proud of a date before?"

"I have, it doesn't mean I brag about it to the whole office," Kate sighed.

DiNozzo's smile fell a fraction. "What's got you all stiffer than normal today?"

"Nothing, I just think that maybe not everyone wants to hear about your so-called 'conquests'!" she snipped.

"Someone clearly woke up on the wrong bed of the bed this morning," DiNozzo grumbled. "At least the day's almost over, provided we get no new cases."

Kate hummed her agreement. She was looking forward to a night alone with the TV on low as she dozed. Maybe if she was lucky her racing thoughts would slow down just long enough for a few hours of sleep.

Gibbs looked up from his work, apparently done tuning the two of them out. "You finished chatting, DiNozzo?"

"Yes, boss!" DiNozzo responded quickly, ducking his head down to work.

It never ceased to amaze Kate that DiNozzo would actually _listen_  to Gibbs. Even after she got to be with the two of them in their sessions, she found it hard to believe that anyone who seemed so eager to question authority who he didn't like (or didn't like him) would listen so easily. It was almost creepy, in a way. Like she expected him to lose it one day and become completely subservient to Gibbs, even though she knew that rationally, that was never going to happen.

Cold cases were a welcome breath of fresh air after the case they had wrapped up this morning, but sadly she couldn't block out all of DiNozzo's chatter when she didn't need to focus one hundred and ten percent of her attention on an active case. She could feel a headache approaching, and quickly. The worst part was, though, when she reached into her desk for where she stored some spare ibuprofen, someone (Tony) had taken the last of it and left her with an empty bottle. She sighed, threw it in the trash, and rubbed her temples. She _hated_  days like today.

When the headache hit her full force, all Kate could do was grit her teeth. It pulsed in time with her heartbeat, and made it impossible to focus. The end of the day couldn't come soon enough, and she was quick to pack up her things the second the clock hit five. Before she could leave the bullpen, though, Gibbs spoke up. "Kate."

Kate winced and turned around, making an effort to keep her face neutral. "Yeah?"

"Want to come over to my place tonight? You look like you need it."

Kate frowned. "But...Tony's not going over, is he?"

"I didn't say Tony looked like he needed it, I said you did," Gibbs said, looking up at her from his desk. "So do you want to come over?"

Kate thought about it. She didn't have plans tonight, and she knew Gibbs kept Advil in his house, so she could have something for her headache. And it wasn't like she was looking forward to making dinner for herself tonight anyway. "Okay, I guess."

Gibbs grabbed his things and stood. "If it's all the same, I'd rather drive you, with that headache you have."

"How did you--nevermind. Do you have anything here I could take?" Kate asked.

"Nope. First thing when we get home, though, I'll give you some Advil. It's clear that you've been struggling for a few hours."

"Okay," Kate said, rubbing her forehead again. She really was not feeling up for much coherent thought tonight, and it was bothering her that she didn't fight the fog settled in her mind more, even though she knew fighting it would only result in a worse headache.

Gibbs wrapped an arm around her shoulders and lead her to the elevator. Kate blinked through the pain growing worse in her head, and tried to think of something, anything, to say so that she wouldn't feel awkward. As it was, nothing was forthcoming.

They got into the elevator and Kate closed her eyes, content to just rest for a few seconds. She felt herself moving forward, and then suddenly the grip around her shoulders tightened. Her eyes fluttered open. "Woah," she breathed.

"You all right?" Gibbs asked. "You fell asleep standing up."

"'M fine," Kate mumbled. Well, relatively. She didn't need help standing up, at least she didn't think so. Her head just hurt a bit; she had gone through worse in the Secret Service. "I just need some ibuprofen and some sleep."

Gibbs didn't remove his arm from her shoulders, though. "I think you're lying," Gibbs said. "Even to yourself."

Kate looked up at him and shrugged noncommittally. Her head just wouldn't stop pounding, and she could feel herself wanting to just fall back into Katie's autopilot, which was a rather foreign feeling.

"Hey, if you need to wind down a little early, I won't judge," Gibbs whispered. "Remember Tony does it all the time."

"I'm not Tony though," Kate said. She could feel herself slipping faster and faster, and she just couldn't get a grip. She was worried.

"I know you're not Tony. But I give both my kids equal opportunity for help if they need it," Gibbs said.

Kate tried to focus on being an adult one last time, but the end result just wound up with a worsening headache. Katie whimpered and put a hand to her head, willing the pressure to stop. "It hurts," she admitted. "A lot."

"I figured," Dad said, rubbing her shoulder. "You usually don't get headaches that last this long, so it must be a big one."

Katie leaned into him as the elevator door opened. They walked out to the parking lot side-by-side and Katie sighed at the moving air hitting her face. Her breath turned into faint wisps of fog. "Winter's coming," she said.

"Some would say it's already here," Dad said. He tilted his head to the side and smiled. "'Course, I doubt those people come from Pennsylvania."

Katie giggled. "Definitely not."

The car was quiet compared to the outside, which made Katie relax considerably. Even background noise felt like too much right now. Dad got in the front and started the car, and Katie found herself dozing off quickly.

* * *

The next time Katie was aware of her surroundings she was laying on something soft, and someone was stroking her hair. "C'mon, Katydid, time to get up."

Katie frowned and opened her eyes a crack, to find Dad crouching in front of her on the couch, a pill bottle in hand. "Need something for that headache, Katydid. You have to be up for a little bit yet in order to have dinner."

"No..." she pleaded, turning away.

"Sorry, kiddo, but you have to take your medicine. It'll help you sleep later tonight if you nip the headache in the bud now."

Katie grumbled and turned back around, glaring at Dad. She held out a hand. "Fine, then."

Dad gave her a warning _look_  and handed her a pill, which she dry swallowed. "Watch your attitude," he warned. "You don't speak to authority like that."

After swallowing the pill, Katie sighed and buried her head in the cushions underneath her. Her headache had started up again with a vengeance.

Dad tapped her shoulder. "Hey, I got an idea that might help with your headache," he said. "Do you think you can be up for about half an hour?"

Katie sighed and sat up, looking around for the first time since she woke up. She was already in Dad's house; she must have slept the whole way home. "What would I be doing?" she asked.

Dad stood and crooked a finger to show she should follow him. She stood up and followed him into the basement, where Dad hauled out a fabric-covered cylinder from underneath one of the tables. A punching bag. "This one's soft enough that you don't need gloves for it. The wraps are around here somewhere."

Katie took the bag while Dad went back to look for the wraps. He talked to her as he looked. "You been sleeping well, kiddo?"

"Mostly," Katie said. "Didn't sleep well last night or the night before."

"That's probably why you have the headaches," Dad said. "Why haven't you been sleeping well?"

"Just can't fall asleep," Katie said with a shrug. "Not a big deal, Dad."

Dad took the bag and passed her the wraps, which she started to put on. Dad looked her over. "Kiddo, you've been having more trouble sleeping than just one or two nights staying up late."

Katie shrugged again. "I was trained to listen to any sound that might be dangerous, any sudden movement, anything out of place. It's hard to just shut that off. I put the TV on in the background to drown the noises out. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't."

Dad tilted his head forward in understanding. "Have you considered getting melatonin to help you sleep?"

Katie brought her hands up to her chest and gave the punching bag a hard hit. "Don't need it," she grunted.

"If you're not sleeping to the point of getting headaches, then I think you need it, sweetheart," Dad said.

Katie frowned. "No I don't," she said, more forcefully. She gave the bag another punch.

"I think you do," Dad pressed.

"I don't!" Katie insisted, punching the bag as hard as she could, taking some of the air out of Dad's lungs in the process.

Dad held the bag for her as she punched it again and again. She gave it a solid hit for not being able to sleep, another for her headaches, several for Tony's incessant chatter, and a dozen for not being able to handle all those things on her own. "I should be able to do it," she sighed, hands coming to rest at her sides. "I shouldn't need help to _sleep_  of all things."

"Everyone needs help for some things, Katydid," Dad pointed out. "It's nothing anyone can point a finger at you and blame you for. Insomnia is a very common problem."

"Never had it before," Katie said, picking at the wraps as she started to take them off.

"You never had to deal with what you're dealing with now before, kiddo," Dad said.

"Yes I did," Katie responded.

"You didn't have to deal with there being no immediate danger as a Secret Service Agent, Katydid. You expect there to be trouble, and when none shows up at the office, you just get more on edge. You _need_  a little bit of trouble, or else your anxieties build up. And it gets hard to sleep after a while with nothing happening," Dad said knowingly. "Take it from a Marine."

Katie smiled at the floor. "I guess you have a point," she conceded.

"Good, I hate having to argue with you; you're too stubborn," Dad laughed. "I can make us sandwiches, and you can get ready for bed afterward, if you want."

Katie nodded. If she was exhausted before she took on the punching bag, she was dead on her feet now. Dad lead her upstairs and into the dining room, where she sat as Dad made dinner. She listened to him inside the kitchen, and realized she could trace his steps just by the sounds he made. Maybe he had a point with her looking for trouble. "Is melatonin over the counter?" she asked.

Dad walked in with two sandwiches and nodded. "In small doses. If that doesn't work I'm sure your doctor can prescribe you some. Gonna take my advice?"

"If it works," Katie said. She grinned. "And if not, I get to rub it in a little bit, okay?"

Dad leveled her with a stare. "Pushing it, Katydid."

Katie giggled and took a bite of her sandwich innocently. "Pushing what, Dad?"

Dad chuckled as he ate his own sandwich. "Nothing, sweetheart," he said. "Absolutely nothing."


End file.
